On a Bicycle in London
People in London use bicycles to get around. The main roads have special bicycle lanes, separate from the roadway, with their own traffic lights. From my own observations, many people bike to work and across the city. This past weekend, Prudential raised money for charity with a 100-kilometer bike ride from Surrey to London. Thousands participated. The transportation centers were full of riders and their bikes as the tired cyclists commuted to their homes at the end of the day.
With bicycling on my mind, it seemed appropriate to take a bike tour with the London Bicycle Tour Company. The company provided one-speed bikes, a helmet, and an experienced guide. Our group of 18 included people from Belgium, France, Australia, Ireland, and a family from New Jersey in the United States.
It took us a while to get organized and learn that the brake positions are reversed on British bikes (left hand stops the rear wheel, the opposite of American bikes). We squirreled our way down quiet city streets and stopped at Parliament Square, where Ollie—our somewhat sarcastic and totally British guide—offered questions and tidbits about the statues of Smuts, Mandela, Gandhi, and others.
The tour covered all the hot spots: Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guards, Trafalgar Square, Saint Paul’s, and a quirky graffiti art scene under Waterloo Station.
If I return to London, I would like to do more biking. So many commuters have folding bicycles, which look quite innovative and able to meet the challenges of city riding. I could learn my way around the city—and maybe into the countryside.
